SHILLONG, Oct 13 - As part of the International Day for Disaster Reduction, a daylong media training programme was conducted by the Meghalaya State Disaster Management Authority here today.
Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management Kyrmen Shylla, in his address, said that the media has a pivotal role in disseminating vital information to the public during disasters and post disasters.�
The minister hoped that the training programme for the journalists would go a long way in sensitising the media in disaster risk reduction and add to the capacity building of the media, thus enabling them to respond more effectively during and after a disaster.
Senior journalist and president of Kolkata Press Club Snehasis Sur delivered a lecture on �Disaster Management, Disaster Reporting and Crisis Communication�, which was followed by a brainstorming session.
Elsewhere, a simulation planning and exercise (mock drill) was conducted at the Civil Hospital here. The exercise was organised by the District Disaster Management Authority and conducted under the aegis of the USAID-MHA-UNDP partnership project titled �Developing resilient cities through risk reduction in the context of disasters and climate change�.
The exercise was conducted by simulating an earthquake scenario of magnitude 8.5 during which the Civil Hospital, Shillong, activated the Hospital Disaster Management Plan. During the drill, the hospital disaster management team carried out search and rescue operations as per standard operating procedures.
The mock drill was followed by a briefing session in which observers from the NEIGRIHMS, Bethany Hospital and Directorate of Health Services analysed the drill. The exercise was attended by officials of the District Disaster Management Authority, United Nations Development Programme, Shillong and officials from other hospitals in the State capital.
